Warrior 6850
by Kumiko Seph
Summary: Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip'ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn’t expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami Yaoi Rating will go up.
1. Prologue: Warrior 6850

**Full summary: ****Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: This idea literally came to me in a dream! I woke up and wrote it down instantly, ever since then I've been itching to get it written down and put up. I hope you enjoy!**

**Important note: Just so you all know, this story takes place on the alien ship from the beginning until further notice (which should be when they reach Earth).**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

~Prologue~

"_Sir, Warrior 6850 is ready to awaken. What shall I name the subject?_" the humanoid figure asked his superior.

The man who had been addressed glanced over at the tank in which Warrior 6850 was occupying; waiting to be born. "_Atem_", the man of higher rank replied. "_He shall be named Atem_", he repeated.

"_Yes, sir_", the first man spoke, then walked back up to the tank, typing something into the computer database. The new warrior was logged into the system and the man pulled a lever that drained the fluid surrounding Warrior 6850's body.

* * *

Atem's eyes opened wearily as a jolt of adrenaline was purposely fired through his veins; his vision was blurry, but he realised he was locked in some form of containment. Though he did not panic; his brain was already loaded with information of his existence; why he had been created and his objective of life. He was part of an alien race that had been travelling the universe for many years; searching planet to planet for what they required. He was Warrior 6850; he was a soldier and he lived to serve his people.

Atem choked slightly on the breathing equipment since his body now knew how to survive by itself. He rid himself of the breathing tube and rubbed his eyes; clearing his vision. His tri-coloured hair sagged slightly from the weight of the fluid that he had been in not moments ago; his tanned skin was wet. He waited patiently for the beings on the outside of the tank to finish their tests and free him.

Eventually the glass screen of the tank opened up and Atem stood, climbing out of it. He was instantly presented with clothes.

"_It's good to have you finally with us; Warrior 6850, your alternate name is 'Atem'. My name is Dejho and I am your trainer. Please dress yourself in the clothes provided and make your way to the Assembly through those doors and down the hall"_, spoke the humanoid creature in front of Atem. Atem merely nodded and pulled the clothes on. They appeared to be a black tank top with baggy black trousers. He was also given an armband to wear with a symbol on it that indicated his status as a soldier. A small chain with a tag on the end of it was thrown over his neck. The tag simply read 'Rank: Soldier. Warrior 6850' and the name 'Atem' was scrawled across the back of it.

Atem walked out the door, back straight and his posture was calm and collected. He followed the signs down the hallway that led to a room where a group of other creatures of his race were; there were at least 50 other soldiers in the room.

They were all aligned single file and faced the front of the assembly where a man of higher rank stood. He wore a long white robe that signified his high rank as a 'Peacemaker'. His job was to make peace with the races of each planet they visited, whether it was to gain alliance or gain trust. If the other races failed to make peace with them, they would send out the Soldiers to take over the planet. It was that simple.

"_Hello, newly born warriors_", the Peacemaker spoke, "_I am here to speak to you and remind you of your position. Our race, the 'Nip`ita'*****, are an alien race that spare the lives of our enemies, though only give one chance. If other races fail to become alliance, then we have no choice but to send you out, the soldiers, to dominate the planet. Though, we do not aim to kill anyone; it shall only be done in an act of self defence._"

Atem glanced down the row he was in. The 'Nip`itarian' beside him was female; she had long, dark, brown hair that curled at her shoulders, her skin was a fare white. Her eyes were a deep hazel and they showed no emotion.

"_You are now to be led through this door to begin your training. Good luck._" And with that, the Peacemaker walked back behind the curtain and the soldiers began to lead out. Atem looked back up at the woman beside him and her eyes flickered towards his. Atem held her gaze for a few moments before glancing downwards at his feet as they started to move out of the room. The woman smirked.

"_Hello; I am Warrior 6298, my name is Cherre_", she spoke quietly. Atem looked back up and smiled awkwardly. "_My name is Atem, Warrior 6850_", he said. He guessed it was a good idea to start making friends so he wouldn't have to go to battle alone, that is, if he ever did have to.

The soldiers were trained using laser guns that did no harm; since it was only practise; they were trained for their agility, accuracy and determination. Each soldier had to fire at the bulls-eye targets that popped up. Each time a target was hit, the soldier that did so would earn a certain amount of points based on their speed and accuracy. At the end, the top 10 soldiers that scored the highest would be sent to more advanced training; whereas the lower-scoring soldiers would have to redo their first training.

"_Nervous?_" Cherre asked Atem; to which he looked up at her curiously and shook his head negatively. Cherre just smiled, "_I'll see you in the top ten, then._"

Atem smirked, "_Affirmative._"

~End of Prologue~

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness, the chapters will be much longer!!! Hope you enjoyed! Please review!!**

*** - Don't ask about the name of the alien race; I was struggling for ideas and my friend came up with it. She pretty much ordered me to use it ^_^ **


	2. Chapter One: Promotion

**Full summary: ****Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hope you all enjoy chapter one. **

**Important note: I will update weekly, and if I'm feeling generous, then maybe sometimes twice a week; but only if I get a lot of reviews :)**

**Warning: This fic is going to be MONARCHSHIPPING, YAOI, AtemxYami. Just so ya'll understand that!**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

~Chapter One~

Atem was led with a group to a maze-like room. He glanced around hesitantly, and then his eyes rested on the trainer in front of them.

The trainer nodded his head in greeting, "_Hello, welcome to your first challenge. You will be sent into the maze in groups of ten. Two of you will be selected from each group depending on who scores the highest – the chosen two will be submitted for advanced training whereas the rest of you will have to redo the course. Your aim is to shoot as many bulls-eye targets as you can that will randomly pop up. Are there any questions?" _

Atem glanced slightly around to see everyone looked passive.

"_No questions? Then please, do enter._"

The group filtered into the room and spread out through the many pathways of the maze. Atem looked down at the laser gun he'd been handed and then glanced around the walls. He could hear the screech of others soldiers' laser guns as they were already going off. He frowned and began running through the maze, so far not finding any targets.

He growled slightly and stopped before hearing a slight ping from behind him; he turned quickly and pulled the trigger, hitting the target that had appeared on the wall. He blinked; then continued searching the maze for more targets.

The time limit of 60 seconds was counting down and Atem was starting to feel as though he was failing, having only hit about twelve targets so far. He was sure, from the whirling sounds from round the corners that other soldiers had hit at least thirty or more. He cursed silently as he found himself at a dead end though did a double-take when three targets appeared at once.

He speedily shot them and more appeared. He smirked, shooting the next round again and again.

A buzzer sounded, signifying the last ten seconds of the training and he found himself struggling to shoot all the targets that appeared in time.

The lights went up when the countdown hit zero and all the soldiers were ordered to exit. Atem found his way out and checked the score board, silently fretting he'd come last. His eyes widened in surprise when he found he'd come second out of the ten that had entered. Cherre had come first; he caught her smirking prideful and she glanced at him momentarily to wink.

The trainer rose to the podium and read out the list of the two highest scoring soldiers in each group and then motioned for them to pass through to the next room.

As they walked, Cherre turned to Atem, "_Nice going, Atem. For a moment I thought I wouldn't be seeing you in the next round._"

Atem glanced at her, then to his feet, shook his head and replied "_For a moment, so did I._"

Cherre chuckled.

10 Nip`itarian years later.

Atem dashed back onto the Nip`itarian ship along with one hundred and ninety nine other soldiers. He'd completed yet another mission whilst one of the Peacemakers and done what they had to do. He reached the ship and walked down the hallways which were crowded by many other Nip`itarians.

"_Atem!_" He heard his name being called; and he recognised the voice instantly as Cherre's. He didn't stop walking, though he slowed momentarily so Cherre could catch up.

"_Cherre_", he greeted curtly; though he couldn't waste much time. He was in a hurry; he had been contacted by one of the Peacemakers and told to report to the throne room after his latest mission. He was extremely nervous, wondering if he'd done anything wrong. It must be tremendously important if he was to present himself before the King of their race. The King's name was Posvya; and he ruled over the entire population of Nip`itarians.

"_What's up, Atem?_" She asked informally as she came to his side, following him down the hall.

"_I was asked to attend to the throne room_", was all Atem said. Cherre must have sensed his anxiousness because she then replied.

"_It can't be for anything you've done wrong. You must be the most law-abiding soldier there is... at least in my opinion._" Cherre tried to calm his nerves but it simply wasn't working.

Atem nodded slightly to Cherre as they walked their separate ways; he entered the elevator which sent him to one of the upmost levels of the ship. He received dirty looks from many of the higher rank Nip`itarians for simply wandering around. The soldiers only dwelled on the lower levels of the ship and their presents in the higher levels of the ship were made out to be quite unpleasant.

Atem continued his way, noting the signs leading to the throne room. He finally came up to large double-doors that were sharply secured by five highly-ranked guards.

Atem reached the door and was glad to see that the Peacemaker whom had told him to report there earlier was waiting for him. This made things a whole lot easier for Atem and the reassuring smile on the Peacemaker's face definitely did well to calm Atem's senses.

"_Glad you made it; you're going to have to drop your weapons here as a precaution though._"

Atem did as the Peacemaker told him and stripped himself of all weapons which were taken away by servants. Atem noticed out or the corner of his eye on the Peacemakers tag, his name was Gek. It would be useful to know.

Atem nodded his head to the Peacemaker as he was led through the double-doors. He kept his head bowed; not daring to look up into the Kings eyes for fear of being thrown in the dungeons.

When Atem was no longer led by the Peacemaker, he stopped and bowed low to his superior.

"_Stand, soldier_", the King's booming voice spoke and Atem did so without hesitance.

"_Do you know why you are here, soldier?_" The King questioned, though his voice was not demanding.

Atem swallowed and breathed slowly before raising his head slightly; "_No, sir. I apologise if I have strayed from the rules and I accept any fate that you place upon me._"

There was a soft chuckle throughout the room; even the Peacemakers seemed amused. Atem frowned slightly, glancing at each of them before lowering his head again.

"_Relax; soldier, for you have done nothing wrong. In fact, you've done so much right._"

Atem looked up in surprise. "_Your attitude and behaviour have been closely monitored for a while. Your determination in battle has been noticed. I have called you here to promote you from soldier to 'retriever'._"

Atem's eyes were wide – surely he must be dreaming! He bowed again, "_I feel honoured to be promoted, your majesty. But please, if I may ask, what is my job as a 'retriever'?_" Atem felt hesitant to ask, but otherwise he would be completely clueless.

"_A 'retriever' is one of the topmost highest ranks. They are on the same level as Peacemakers and their jobs are just as important. Like I said before, your skills have been noticed. For many years we have travelled the universe, looking for special, valuable object, more commonly known as pendants. In total, there are two hundred in existence – we have collected one hundred and ninety eight. There are two more left to retrieve. And that, Warrior, is your job. We have the location of the remaining two; it is your job to collect them._" The King explained patiently; Atem's eyes widened more with each word the King spoke; he couldn't believe this was happening to him; he felt entirely ecstatic.

"_T-thank you, my King!_" Atem gasped; bowing once more.

The King's eyes narrowed slightly, "_You must understand the importance of your position. The pendants are highly important to our ancestors. They were scattered across the universe by our ancient enemies. We must collect them to stop the imminent feud between our last enemies. Now, listen carefully; the pendants have the appearance of a small, golden, triangular prism. They rest in your hands now."_

Atem nodded and bowed once more, "_I understand, my King, I shall do whatever it takes to retrieve the remaining two pendants."_

"_Warrior 6850; Retriever, Atem; your mission begins tomorrow; for that is when we shall be landing. If you have any worries or questions, you shall be referred to this Peacemaker; his name is Gek._"

"_Yes, your majesty, and thank you for this opportunity to prove my eternal loyalty_", he bowed once more and was led out.

Gek glanced at him with a smirk, "_You handled that well_", he spoke.

Atem smiled at him, "I don't think it has sunk in entirely yet..." he couldn't help the small chuckle that passed his lips.

Gek grinned, "_We'll get you your new uniform and talk you through tomorrow's mission. Then you may travel back down to the lower levels and bid the soldiers a farewell; collect your belongings and return here._"

Atem nodded; he couldn't wait to tell Cherre the good news.

~End of Chapter 1~

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Read and review and I should have the next chapter up soon!**


	3. Chapter Two: Earth

**Full summary: ****Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hope you all enjoy chapter two. **

**Warning: This fic is going to be MONARCHSHIPPING, YAOI, AtemxYami. Just so ya'll understand that!**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

~Chapter Two~

"_You WHAT?_"

Atem winced as the loud screech filled his ears; he frowned towards his best friend, Cherre. "_I got promoted_", he repeated quietly when Cherre didn't respond in the exact way he hoped; "_Aren't you happy for me_?" he asked.

"_Well, yeah, I'm happy for you. But WHY you?"_ Cherre asked, "_I work just as hard as you do!_"

Atem sighed, "_I don't know. All they told me is that they've been monitoring me during battle_."

"_That's totally unfair!_" Cherre shrieked; eyes full of jealousy. "_Higher ranks get a hell of a lot more respect than soldiers! You'll probably never be allowed down here again!_"

Atem's eyes softened slightly, "_Is that what this is about? You don't want me to go?_"

Cherre looked down out of embarrassment, sighing with frustration, "_...What if I never see you again? You're my best friend!_"

Atem rested a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him solemnly, "_I wouldn't just desert you, Cherre. I'll come visit whenever I can; maybe I'll even see you on missions_", Atem smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood.

Cherre sighed but then smiled, "_You always knew what to say to cheer me up... sorry for acting all selfish like this..._"

"_It's alright, I understand. I'll hopefully see you tomorrow then, Cherre._"

Cherre smiled at him and nodded, "_See you around, Atem. Good luck on your mission_."

Atem grinned, "_Right back at you"_, he told her light-heartedly.

The Next Day...

Atem stared in the mirror at his new clothes. He wore the same sort of black baggy trousers as before, but he now wore a black jacket with red outlining and golden embroidery on the left side of his chest with a new symbol that marked him as a Retriever.

Gek walked in, wearing his white peacemaker robe. "_Excited? Nervous?_" Gek asked; a smirk on his face.

Atem smiled slightly, "_A little bit of both, I guess._"

Gek chuckled, "_You'll gain confidence the longer you're out there._"

Atem nodded for looking up at him wearily, "_Can you run me through the instructions again?_"

Gek nodded, "_Whilst the peacemakers and I are reassuring the so-called 'Humans' that we mean no harm, you must use the tracking device and find the two pendants. Our resources tell us that the pendants are quite near to each other in a country called 'Japan'. You have your communications device; your translator and if you need backup, we'll send in soldiers. Please, try your best not to make contact with any humans. The chances are that after we land on their planet, they'll alert the entire population of our arrival and they'll be very on edge. Our research tells us these humans are not very trusting. Whatever you do, stay on guard. Remember, we mean peace, not war. As soon as you have the pendants, report back to the ship as fast as you can. Your deadline is the third day, please try and keep to schedule._"

Atem stared at him and slowly nodded, swallowing thickly. He was obviously nervous seeing as this was his first mission as a Retriever.

"_When do we land?_"

The Peacemaker checked his watch-like gadget. "_According to my sources, we have 30 minutes till we land, we are soon going to enter Earth's atmosphere._"

Atem nodded.

"_Best you make it down to the exit. I'll be down in a moment_."

Atem nodded once more and left the room; making his way down to the exit deck where he found a couple of other Peacemakers and guards.

The Peacemakers smiled at him this time, showing their appreciation to the newly promoted Retriever. A few of them even greeted them and reassured them that these humans weren't so tough and that there was nothing to worry about.

Over the speaker, it was announced that there were soon to be landing and they had to get ready to leave the ship. Atem took a deep breath and sighed slightly, standing up and stepping into his place behind the peacemakers.

Gek soon joined them and stood beside him, turning to him. "_Also, you are not required to speak to the humans, merely make them feel at ease. So only draw your weapon if you really have to_."

Atem swallowed again and nodded, inhaling and exhaling deeply, he looked ahead with determination and the ship gave a rather sharp jolt as it landed; Atem stumbled slightly, but regained balance. The large door opened and he followed the peacemakers out onto the planet. The first thing Atem noticed, with admiration, was how green the planet was. The sky was a deep blue and the sun was beating down on the earth. The planet was full of life, much to Atem's surprise. He pictured it to be much different, more of a baron waste land. Now that he knew how lively this planet was, he was feeling slightly more confident.

The second thing he noticed... were the many tanks and human soldiers bearing weapons pointed directly at them. There were missile launchers, machine guns, and all sorts of deadly weapons.

Atem blinked, gulping slightly once more before clearing his throat and standing at ease.

One of the Peacemakers stepped forward, both arms raised to show that he bore no weapons and started speaking to the humans in their own language.

Atem quickly flicked the translator on so he could understand what was being said.

"Humans, we do not wish to harm you. We come in peace; all we wish is that you give us three days to find something that belongs to our species; after that we will leave. By taking what we need, we will not affect your planet in any negative way, it will live on as if nothing had happened", the Peacemaker explained.

The man who seemed to be in charge of the surrounding humans stared hardly at the Peacemaker, though he showed no sign to tell his soldiers to lower their weapons.

"What is it you need, alien?" The human asked, eyebrows narrowed.

"They are ancient alien artefacts that are of no value to your species. I would appreciate it if you would lower your weapon." The Peacemaker spoke.

Gek moved forward, "We will be sending one of our Retrievers to collect this objects; you have no reason to fear or harm us. We are merely doing what we have to; and we promise we shall not hurt you."

Atem glanced around slightly, he realised that the surroundings were very open; fields and hills seemed to go on for miles; though it was only natural that the pilot of their ship had landed somewhere desolate as not to harm any of Earth's population.

Atem looked in the opposite direction and squinted his eyes slightly, he realised that there was a wide forest in the direction he was looking. Glancing back down at his tracker device, he noticed that one of the pendants was in the direction of the forest.

He looked up again and realised that Gek was staring at him. Atem blinked and Gek motioned him to step forward. It was now that Atem noticed all weapons had been lowered and everyone was quiet.

Atem took a step forward towards Gek and stood beside him, "This is our Retriever." Gek spoke.

The human nodded. Gek turned to Atem and nodded. Atem blinked and sighed, stepping forward, he looked down at the tracker device once more then up at the crowd of humans; one by one they stood aside as Atem walked through; he kept his head down, not wanting to look any of them in the eye and at the same time realised how short he was compared to them.

The crowd cleared completely and he carried on, walking through the fields of grass and plants; looking up once more. He was about a mile away from the forest and his eyes narrowed determinedly. He thought it best to walk at a steady pace until he reached the cover of the forest because he didn't want to alert the humans. After walking for what seemed five minutes, he looked over his shoulder at his ship and the humans who were now seemingly speaking to the Peacemakers. They were becoming smaller as Atem walked on and he finally reached the edge of the forest; the trees standing tall. Atem glanced into the darkness of the forest wearily as he had no idea what lurked inside.

~End of Chapter 2~

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter, sorry if it seemed a little short. I think this equalled to about 4 and a half pages on MS Word, font size 11. Anyway, next chapter will start off from Yami's perspective, so keep that in mind! :D You might be wondering how all the humans and tanks got to the ship so quickly - in actual fact, their 'radars' and all that stuff detected it and got there before it landed, just to clear that up. Questions, Comments, Charcoal for flames? Give me a review and I'll answer back! :)**


	4. Chapter Three: Yami

**Full summary: ****Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hope you all enjoy chapter three. **

**Warning: This fic is going to be MONARCHSHIPPING, YAOI, AtemxYami. Just so ya'll understand that!**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

**Important note: I might be able to update next Tuesday - but after that, I'm going to Egypt for a week so no updates until I get back the following Wednesday, cool? I'll write the next couple of chapters whilst I'm there... if I'm not too busy swimming or burning under the Egyptian Sun ;) Or searching for Atemu's tomb, but that's optional... hehehe...**

~Chapter Three~

Yami sighed as he inhaled the scent of nature. He gazed at his green surroundings; there was nothing but healthy trees scattered around his log cabin of which he lived in. The sound of running water filled his ears; which was coming from the clear-water river not too far away.

Yami wore blue pants along with a black t-shirt; a blue jacket was slung over his shoulder and a shining golden necklace was swaying gently from his neck. He brushed a hand back through his spiky, tri-coloured hair then swiped the sweat from his forehead. The brilliant, hot sun was beating down upon him, reflecting off of his pale skin, causing the illusion that he was shining. He stretched; his muscles flexing beneath his shirt, and stepped forward into his cabin.

He was instantly shaded from the bright sun and a cool breeze blew across him. He threw his jacket over the back of a chair and slumped down on the sofa. He reached over to the side-table and flicked the switch of the radio then grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl beside it.

He chewed pleasantly on the apple until a disturbed sounding voice began ranting on the radio. He frowned and turned up to volume.

'_An alien spaceship has landed just outside the boundaries of Japan._' It was all Yami heard before he flicked the radio off in frustration.

"Alien spaceship? Yeah, right. Probably just a stupid prank someone's playing", he snorted. He finished his apple and sighed, lying back on the sofa with the golden pendant resting gingerly on his stomach. Yami caressed the delicate artefact, closing his eyes contentedly.

"No", he suddenly said, sitting up straight; "can't sleep yet... still have work to do."

He groaned as he pulled himself up and stretched once more; his eyes rested on the fruit bowl, which he noticed was deprived of fruit; then on the empty fireplace.

"More fruit... and firewood... okay", he made a mental note of what he needed and set out yet again, into the woods. Since Yami lived in the middle of a forest, it was hard to get good food supplies. His best bet was fetching fruit and occasionally hunting animals; which he did only when he needed to.

Yami's eyes scanned the area for discarded sticks or logs; he collected a reasonable amount of logs and walked back to his cabin along the river bank. He eyed the clear water warily; it looked beautiful, it really did; but the truth was that Yami had never actually learnt how to swim. The water was deep enough for him to drown in, seeing as he was extremely short for an eighteen year old man.

Yami looked up at the trees and stopped for a moment; a wide smile on his face. He spotted some of the juiciest looking apples hanging from the branches and grinned. "I'll come back for you!" he exclaimed positively.

He hurried back to his log cabin and stacked the logs delicately outside his home; he wiped the sweat from his brow and wandered inside the cabin to have a quick break. He quickly poured himself a glass of water and downed it quickly, before once again slumping down on the sofa. He didn't realise it could be so tiring carrying logs around everywhere. He relaxed, sighed softly before regrettably falling asleep. Though who could blame him? He'd been working so hard already.

* * *

Atem followed the blip on his radar; he wasn't far off now. At this rate he'd probably collect both pendants before the day was over. He looked up and stopped suddenly when he saw something moving in front of him; it was a small blur of white and it dashed across his vision. Alarmed, he followed it through the bushes it had jumped through and stopped once more when he found it sitting carelessly on a riverbank. Atem frowned, eyeing it curiously.

It wasn't a human; that was for sure; it was too small and fluffy. Atem crept closer, lowering to his knees as not to scare the creature.

"_Hello"_, he muttered in his own language. One of the ears of the creature perked up, standing on end. A twig snapped under Atem's foot and the creature looked around at him.

Atem stilled under the gaze of the creature, looking it directly in the eye. "_What are you?" _he asked hesitantly. The creature did nothing; it didn't even make a sound. Atem inched slightly closer and the creature suddenly turned and hopped off; Atem gasped and quickly moved to follow it. It was surprisingly fast for something so little. "_Wait!" _Atem called out; but the creature ignored him and jumped down a hole in the earth that appeared to be a burrow.

Atem knelt down beside it in alarm; wondering if it had fallen by accident or if this was its home. He knelt there for several minutes before coming to the conclusion that it wouldn't come back out for a long time, at least while he was there.

Atem sighed and stood back up, looking around to see if he could see anything else that looked like the same creature, but he couldn't. He regretted not scanning the life form when he had the chance, he could have found out a lot more about it.

Atem looked back down at his radar; the signal of the pendant was far stronger than before; he began following the signal once more.

Eventually, he came to an open area where he saw a strange cabin. He paid no mind to it and walked forward, eyes glued to the tracking device. His attention was occupied; he didn't notice the stack of logs in front of him and he walked right into them by accident.

He dashed backwards, out of the way as the logs toppled over, missing him by inches. Atem gasped, looking around alarmingly until he heard someone shout.

"What was that!?"

Atem looked up, realising it came from the cabin and quickly jumped to his feet, running back into the forest, hiding behind a tree; his eyes were wide and his pupils were larger than normal. Adrenaline pumped through his body as he tried to slow his breathing. He had no idea why he was so worked up; it was only a human, wasn't it; nothing to be afraid of... right?

Atem stilled as he heard the cabin door open and footsteps were left in the wake of the human who walked out to the unruly pile of logs.

"Hello? Anyone here?" the human asked, "Huh? Must have been an animal." Atem gulped slightly, calming himself inwardly; he peaked around the side of the tree to see a peculiar looking human male.

He looked strangely similar to Atem himself; but Atem paid no mind to that; what he did notice, in fact, was the large, golden pyramid-shaped object hanging around his neck.

'_One of the pendants! This human has it!'_ he thought with a start. The human rearranged the logs then rubbed his hands together, getting rid of the dirt.

Atem frowned, wondering how he was going to get the pendant away from the human without talking to, or hurting him. The thoughts flew through his head and he almost didn't notice when the human turned and began walking through the woods in the opposite direction. Atem quickly followed suite, and stealthily.

* * *

Yami walked down to the riverbank where he'd seen the apples earlier. He had accidentally fallen asleep and almost forgot about them. He looked up at the branch where several apples perched and he managed to reach them easily by standing on his tip toes. He smiled at the pile of apples in his arms. "This ought to keep me full for a while", he said with a grin, but then something else caught his eye. On a higher branch over-hanging the river was one of the brightest red apples he'd ever seen. "I have to have that one!" he exclaimed, and then put the other apples down by the bottom of the tree. Yami hummed thoughtfully as he looked from the tree, to the apple, to the water.

He began climbing the tree, holding on tightly to the wobbling branches; he sat on the branch that held the last apple, one leg either side and reached out to grab it.

He couldn't reach it.

"Damn", he muttered. He decided to shimmy a little closer, now above the water. He leaned forward, swung to the side so one of his legs was hanging off the branch, his left hand gripping it. With his right hand he reached for the apple once more, grabbed the apple then pulled it from the branch. He smiled, "Awesome", he murmured; his smile didn't stick for long, though, because he then heard a sickening crack. "No", he whispered, looking over his shoulder at the cracking branch just as it gave way.

He cried out as he fell into the river; under the water his arms flailed wildly as he tried to get back to the surface.

He surfaced briefly just for enough time to scream for help, though he knew it was probably be in vain since there was no one else around for miles.

* * *

Atem stared wide eyed at the human in the water; he'd heard the human's plead for help but he decided not to intervene. Atem peaked out from his hiding place. He'd wait until the splashing stopped then retrieve the human's body and take the pendant then; after all, that would be much easier.

The human surfaced again, coughing and spluttering. For a moment, the human noticed him and reached out to him. "Please, help!" he shrieked.

Atem stilled, inwardly cursing. The human had noticed him now; he had no idea what he should do. He watched as the human went under the water once more, air bubbles surfacing, and this time the human sunk.

Atem's decision was spontaneous as he stepped forward and dived into the water; he grabbed the humans hand and pulled him back to the surface, onto the river bank. Atem lay the man down, realising that he was already unconscious.

Atem blinked. The human wasn't breathing.

Atem had no idea how to get him breathing again; there was nothing he could do. He shook the unconscious human, hoping that maybe that would work; but the pale man was completely lifeless.

Atem frowned, and he grabbed the pendant around his neck. The instance he did, though, the human suddenly coughed; his arms flailing again slightly. Atem backed away as the human coughed up water, gasping for breath.

When the human had stopped spluttering, he looked up confusedly into the blood-red eyes of the man who had saved his life.

Still breathing heavily, the human smiled at him, "T-thank you..." he heaved.

Atem just gazed at him, a passive stare etched on his face.

~End of Chapter Three~

**A/N: Did ya enjoy? Leave me a review and let me know! :)**


	5. Chapter Four: Atem

**Full summary: Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hope you all enjoy chapter four. **

**Warning: This fic is going to be MONARCHSHIPPING, YAOI, AtemxYami. Just so ya'll understand that!**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

Also, this chapter will sorta begin in Yami's POV!

**Important Note: Going to Egypt early tomorrow morning! I'll be staying in Luxor for a week, so I won't update again until I get back, just to let you know!**

~Chapter Four~

"Thank you for saving me", Yami repeated to the silent man, who stared at him without expression. The man was silent; inside he was fighting a battle between whether he should get up and walk away or speak to the human. Yami frowned.

"Um, can you talk?" he asked innocently, sitting upright. His clothes were beginning to feel uncomfortable, he shifted slightly.

"Yes", the man finally spoke; eyeing Yami suspiciously.

Yami smiled again, "What's your name?"

The man's eyes narrowed, "Why?"

Yami blinked, taken aback by the man's ferociousness. "I... just want to know the name of the man who saved my life", Yami replied, lowering his head with a frown.

The man was silent once again, staring at him; eventually he spoke, "Tell me your name first."

Yami looked up at him, "My name is Yami", he said, managing a small smile. The man kept the same passive stare as he replied, "Atem."

Yami smiled, "Nice to meet you, Atem", the pale man held out his hand for the other to shake but Atem merely stared at it in confusion.

Atem raised an eyebrow at the palm of the pale man, and then looked up at Yami, then back to the hand. "What?" Atem asked, frowning deeply.

Yami blinked again, chuckling nervously, frowning a little, "You're... supposed to shake it..." he sighed, "never mind." The pale man realised that Atem was eyeing his golden necklace with a stern expression on his face; Yami smiled slightly, raising a hand to rest on the pyramid-shaped pendant.

"Do you like my good-luck charm?"

Atem blinked and looked up at Yami again before murmuring, "It's a pendant."

Yami raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I know. But it's also my good-luck charm. I've scratched my name into the top of it so that everyone knows it's mine. My grandfather gave it to me before he died..." Yami's expression saddened immensely at the mention of his grandfather and Atem frowned a little. The alien couldn't take this item so easily knowing that it belonged to the man's deceased grandfather.

Atem sighed; maybe it would be wiser to come back after he had collected the other one. Without another word, Atem stood up from his kneeling position, turned and began walking away.

"Hey, wait!" the human protested. Atem stilled and looked over his shoulder at him.

"What?" Atem asked.

Yami frowned, taking a step forward hesitantly, "Um... well, I was wondering... would you like to come back to my cabin, just for a while?"

Atem blinked, "...I've got something important I need to do", he tried to decline politely.

"Please", Yami insisted; the human's amethyst eyes seemed to glisten in the sunlight and Atem was slightly alarmed that the human might begin crying. "I'm sorry... it's just... I get really lonely out here, by myself..." the human continued, trying to get Atem to change his mind.

The Peacemakers words echoed through Atem's mind '_Please, try your best not to make contact with any humans.'_ Atem sighed deeply, he'd already broken that rule; but there was no other way to convince Yami to hand over the pendant otherwise.

"...Okay... but not for too long." Atem hesitantly murmured.

Yami's face brightened up and he grinned widely. "Thank you!" Yami literally jumped toward Atem, collecting him in a tight hug. Atem gasped, only just managing to keep his footing as the human buried his face in the crook of Atem's neck. Atem stared at Yami's head with a disturbed expression; the alien had done so much research on the human race the day before and Yami was an unusual individual.

Atem made no move to return the hug, just stood there, his whole body tense.

Eventually Yami got the message and released Atem, frowning slightly. The human turned and gathered up the apples he'd picked then looked over his shoulder. "Follow me!" he declared, before leading the way back to his cabin.

* * *

Atem sat on the sofa uncomfortably, his clothes still soaking wet from having saved the human earlier. Yami had just set the apples down in the fruit bowl and then disappeared into the other room to change his clothes. He came back out holding a pair of black jeans and a white shirt with a blue jacket. "I think you're about my size, you can wear these..." Yami spoke, holding out the clothes.

Atem frowned and shook his head, "No, thanks."

Yami blinked, "But, if you keep those clothes on then you could get ill", Yami insisted, still holding out the clothes.

"I don't need to change." Atem said calmly, masking his irritation. Yami frowned.

"Okay..." the human disappeared into the separate room once more to return the clothes before entering the room again, grabbing two apples from the fruit bowl and held one out to Atem. "You hungry?"

Atem raised an eyebrow and took the fruit, staring at it. Yami sat down beside him, taking a large bite out of his then humming in appreciation of the sweet taste.

Atem looked down at the apple then back up at Yami, growling. "Are you trying to poison me?" he asked darkly.

Yami blinked, eyes widening at the feral tone of Atem's voice. "What? Why would I... poison you?" he asked; his jaw wide open.

"I don't trust you", Atem sneered, "and I bet you'd do anything to get rid of me."

Yami stared at Atem, his eyes wide with shock at the strange antics Atem had on his mind, "I... I really don't know what you're talking about", Yami began, his attitude also taking on a louder tone, he became defensive. "All I wanted to do was try to make a friend! You saved my life, so I invited you in! Why are you dead set on accusing me of impossibly stupid things!?" the human yelled at Atem.

Atem was surprised the timid human had taken on such a defensive attitude; though he held his ground and stood, towering slightly over the human. Yami backed away a little under Atem's intimidating gaze.

"Because you're a stupid human", Atem growled out, before turning and walking towards the exit. Yami stood, stunned at the reply he'd got; before running out after him.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?!" Yami yelled, infuriated. Atem stopped, rolled his eyes as he turned back.

"You're a stupid human being. It's not that hard to understand", Atem spat at him.

Yami grabbed Atem's arm as the alien turned and span him back round to face him. "I am not stupid", Yami snapped defiantly.

"Yes you are, human."

"Why the hell do you keep saying that?" Yami growled.

"What?"

"You keep saying 'human'. We're both human, why are you saying that?" Yami asked.

Atem eyes widened slightly; this human didn't know that he was an alien? He'd thought Yami would've been alerted by the rest of the world. Atem came to a realisation; it all began to make sense. Yami was cut off from the rest of civilisation since he lived in this large forest by himself; he didn't own a television, therefore he didn't have any proof that aliens had actually landed on his planet. He began to regret what he had said since he'd only accused Yami of the things he'd said because he only believed that the human knew he was alien.

Atem, as calmly as he could, rested his hands on the human's shoulders, looked him in the eye and said "Because I'm _not _human."

Yami stared at him, his eyes softening a little in confusion, "What are you talking about?" his tone was quieter now.

"I'm part of an alien race called the Nip`ita, our ship landed only hours ago and I am here to carry out my mission. I have no intention of hurting anyone", Atem explained, understanding the human's confusion.

Yami stared at him before rolling his eyes, his expression becoming a blunt stare. "Do you think I'm stupid? Aliens don't exist", Yami spoke.

Atem stared hardly into Yami's eyes, "I'm telling the truth."

"Prove it", was all the human said, the pale man crossed his arms arrogantly.

Atem sighed, pulling up his sleeve to reveal his watch-like gadget. He pressed a button on it and a hologram appeared over it, showing his spaceship. "This is my ship; it landed a miles away from here", Atem told him.

Yami stared at the gadget, having never seen anything like it before; the human turned slightly pale, taking a step backwards. "But... you speak my language", Yami murmured lightly.

Atem revealed his translator, "That's thanks to this. My translator; without it I wouldn't be able to understand a word you're saying. This is all highly evolved alien technology." Atem looked at the human and frowned.

Yami swayed on his feet slightly, "I... I don't feel so good..." he raised his hand to his head, suddenly feeling extremely light-headed."

Atem steadied him with his hands, holding onto the human's biceps. "I think you should sit down."

Yami whined a little, backing away from Atem before tears welled up in the human's eyes. Yami frantically rubbed the tears away and sat down against a tree, hugging his knees.

Atem sighed and knelt down beside him, "Culture shock", the alien explained, "you'll feel better soon... don't be scared of me, I won't hurt you."

Yami hesitantly looked up at the alien. "I'm not scared of you", he murmured.

Atem looked over Yami's shoulder as something caught his eye; he grabbed the human and pulled him up, holding him protectively from the creature he saw. "Look out!" Atem snapped at the human, pulling Yami away. Yami frowned, his whole body tensed as he turned and saw...

* * *

**A/N: Am I evil leaving it at that part? (Giggles)**


	6. Chapter Five: Take Cover

**Full summary: Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hope you all enjoy chapter five. **

**Warning: This fic is going to be MONARCHSHIPPING, YAOI, AtemxYami. Just so ya'll understand that!**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

**Important Note: I got stuck in Egypt for a little longer than expected thanks to the volcanic ash from Iceland... but all is well now! Also, I've had a lot of exams but I've just about finished them now. Therefore, I am updating! Yay!**

~Chapter Five~

* * *

_Last time..._

_

* * *

Yami whined a little, backing away from Atem before tears welled up in the human's eyes. Yami frantically rubbed the tears away and sat down against a tree, hugging his knees._

_Atem sighed and knelt down beside him, "Culture shock", the alien explained, "you'll feel better soon... don't be scared of me, I won't hurt you."_

_Yami hesitantly looked up at the alien. "I'm not scared of you", he murmured._

_Atem looked over Yami's shoulder as something caught his eye; he grabbed the human and pulled him up, holding him protectively from the creature he saw. "Look out!" Atem snapped at the human, pulling Yami away. Yami frowned, his whole body tensed as he turned and saw...

* * *

_"...a rabbit? Are you serious?"

Atem blinked and looked down at the human. "Huh?" the alien mumbled in confusion, looking from Yami to the white, fluffy creature and back. Yami was staring at him, an eyebrow raised with a look that told him this creature was clearly nothing to be afraid of.

"What's a harmless bunny rabbit going to do to me? Aside from nibble at my feet?" Yami asked, an amused look passing over his face.

"Bunny... rabbit?" Atem murmured, looking back to the small creature. The rabbit licked its paw and washed its ears before hopping away. "So, it's not dangerous?" Atem asked hesitantly.

Yami blinked once before bursting out into a fit of giggles. Atem groaned slightly, "Do not laugh at me, human." The alien frowned, obviously embarrassed as a light blush made its way over his face. Yami stopped laughing and smiled, "Sorry, it's just a little funny is all." The two then became silent, simply staring at one another before Yami started blushing for an entirely different reason to Atem. The alien was still holding him closely and protectively... too close, in fact. Their faces were inches apart and Yami could just about feel the warm breath of the alien blowing softly against his cheek.

"Your breath smells nice", Yami murmured slightly; it smelt strangely minty. Yami's eyes widened and he turned even more crimson as he realised what he'd just said.

"My... breath smells nice?" Atem repeated, seemingly confused. Yami swallowed thickly then laughed nervously, "Uh, n-never mind!"

Atem nodded slightly before releasing the human who sighed disappointedly at the loss of the strong, warm embrace.

"Is something wrong?" Atem asked, slightly concerned at the small frown on the human's face.

Yami quickly masked his disappointment with a bright smile, "Nothing! So... you're really an alien?" the human asked, slightly intrigued.

Atem nodded, "Yes, my race is called the Nip`ita, I am warrior 6850; and my rank is that of a Retriever."

Yami blinked; everything that Atem had told him made near to no sense to him. "Okay", he murmured, before smiling lightly. "So... what are you doing here?"

Atem's eyes darted to the pendant for a moment before back up at Yami's face, "I... I'm here to... collect a couple of things", he sought out his words delicately, making sure not to mention specifically what it was he was after since one of them belonged to the human before him.

"Okay, so... you're not going to... hurt anyone, are you?" Yami asked, a little uneasy.

Atem shook his head, "Far from it, Yami. We aim for peace", was all the alien said, before looking down with a frown, "Anyway... I... I must be going now..."

Yami instantly frowned, "What?" he asked softly, "But... why can't you stay longer?" His voice was almost pleading.

Atem shook his head softly, "I'm sorry, Yami, but I only have three days to collect these things. I must not waste time."

Yami lowered his gaze to the ground; a deep frown on his pale face. Atem sighed softly before taking a step back and turning. Yami looked up and grabbed the alien's arm. "Please don't leave me", Yami pleaded softly.

Atem turned again and stared solemnly at him.

"Can... I come with you?" Yami asked hesitantly.

Atem's eyes widened slightly, "Come with me?" Yami nodded. "No, it's not safe", Atem said, a little too harshly.

Yami's eyes welled up with tears as he held on tightly to Atem's arm. "I-I promise I won't annoy you! I'll stay quiet! You won't even know I'm there!" Yami pleaded, desperately.

Atem's eyes widened once again, "No, that's not the point Yami. I said it's too dangerous." Atem managed to slip his arm out of Yami's grip. "I'll come back soon to say goodbye, okay?"

A single tear fell down Yami's cheek as Atem walked away; he hated being alone.

'_The only friend I've ever made... and he has to be an alien on a very short mission..._', Yami thought.

Yami's fists clenched, '_I'm not letting him get away that easily!_'

Yami, with a newly determined face, began to slowly follow the alien through the woods; his plan was to make himself known when they were too far away from the human's cabin, therefore Atem wouldn't even think of sending him back and he'd let him tag along.

* * *

_Three Hours Later...

* * *

_

Atem stepped through the muddy forest, his face scrunching up in disgust at the squelching noise that was made. Darkness had fallen not too long ago and the air was becoming colder; Atem couldn't care much for the cold right now, though; he just wanted to find the pendant then get back to Yami. Though he dreaded the thought of asking the human to hand over his pendant; he didn't know how the other would react, especially after what had just happened not too long ago. The beeping slowed slightly, signalling he was headed in the wrong direction, so he turned left and right until he found the right direction.

Atem hurriedly stepped through the mud; looking around he started seeing rock formations of some sort. 'Caves' would be a more appropriate description. There were only a few of them, but they looked good enough to camp in for the night. Atem smiled lightly, happy that he'd finally found some shelter.

The alien stepped forward and expertly slipped on the mud, sending him into the puddle of brown clumps of sludge. Atem let out a cry of disgust as he hurried to stand back up, but his swiftness caused him to slip once more. This time, though, his hand was grabbed by a very amused looking Yami.

Atem froze at the sight of the human standing in front of him. They stood like that for a long while before Atem finally scowled. "What are you doing here!? I told you to go home!"

Yami frowned, "This planet doesn't belong to you! You can't tell me what to do", Yami spat defiantly.

Atem growled, eyeing the human with a glare before sighing softly. "It was foolish to follow me here, I have no supplies of food or water", the alien spoke.

"Fortunately for you, I've been collecting food whilst following you", Yami grinned and reached into the small bag hanging loosely off his back and took out two bright green apples. He handed one to Atem who stared at it before shaking his head and handing it back. "I'm not hungry at the moment, it'll be wise to ration", Atem spoke, "We need to take shelter in that cave over there..." the alien looked down at his muddy garments and groaned.

Yami chuckled slightly at the look on Atem's face, "The mud will fall off when it dries." The human said before shivering as a gust of wind blew passed them.

"Come on", Atem spoke, turning and leading into the cave, this time with more care for where he stepped. The cave wasn't that much warmer, but it was better than being stuck outside in the freezing weather.

"We should try and get some sleep", Atem spoke as he dropped his bag next to the wall and sat down next to it. Yami blinked and nodded, sitting opposite him on the other side of the cave and snuggling up next to his bag to try and keep warm.

Atem used his own bag as a pillow and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself. Five minutes later he could hear Yami shuffling and rolling over; he was panting from the cold and shivering all over.

"Are you alright?" Atem asked softly. Yami jerked his head up and down in a nod; Atem could obviously tell he was freezing cold.

Atem stood up and walked towards the human, lying down beside him. Yami smiled gratefully at Atem as he snuggled up closer to the alien. Atem sighed softly, stroking the human's hair.

They soon both fell asleep.

~End of Chapter Five~

**A/N: I know what you're all thinking... 'Awwwwwwwww' ^_^ Sorry if it's a little short. I was awoken rudely this morning this a tummy ache and it's 8:15 now, so I'm gonna sit on my bed and play my playstation 2, I just thought I could try and update for you all ^_^  
**


	7. Chapter Six: Adventure Continues

**Full summary: Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hope you all enjoy chapter six. **

**Warning: This fic is going to be MONARCHSHIPPING, YAOI, AtemxYami. Just so ya'll understand that!**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

**Important Note: From now on I'm going to update on Sunday and hopefully, if I have more time on my hands, Thursday as well.**

~Chapter Six~

The sound of sharp twitters from the birds outside the cave, sitting in their nests, filled the air and Atem slowly awoke to a soft morning breeze. He shivered slightly, opening his crimson eyes and rubbing away the blur. His eyes adjusted and then widened slightly when he saw that Yami and himself had, during a stage of their sleep, become curled around each other. Atem glanced down at Yami's innocent sleeping face and gently untangled himself from the human's body. Yami moaned softly, his nose scrunching up for a moment before falling back into its relaxing state. Atem sat up straight, a frown on his face as he thought to himself.

_One day over... two more left._

Atem glanced over at the pale man who was still dreaming in the blissful unaware. His eyes were redirected to the golden pendant that hung around the human's neck. The pyramid-like shape was resting by Yami's head; the object that Atem needed was right there in front of him, though for some reason he did not have the heart to take it and leave. Atem couldn't do that to Yami after learning that he was all alone in the world after the death of his grandfather. Atem sighed, turning back to look at his hands resting in his lap. He growled softly, realising that eventually he would have to take the pendant when the human wasn't looking. But then again, maybe it would make more sense to take it now than later; after all, he would only get more attached to the human. Maybe this was why the Peacemaker had warned him not to interact with any of Earth's inhabitants.

Atem gritted his teeth as he tried to decide over his dilemma. His head was saying yes; to take the pendant now whilst the human slept and leave without a word, but his heart said no; deep down inside him, he cared for the human. He did not want to leave Yami alone.

Atem lowered his head; he made his mind up. He had to take the pendant now and continue on his way to find the other; it was for the best. He had to forget about the human's feelings for the good of his race. Atem turned back to the sleeping human and reached forward, grabbing the pendant and, as carefully as he could, removed it from Yami's neck. The pendant seemed to glow in his hands, though it could have just been the light of the sun reflecting into the cave.

Unbeknownst to the alien; the morning light was causing the human to stir. Yami gently opened his eyes; a content smile was gracing his features as he looked up slightly to see Atem gripping the golden pendant in his hands with stressed expression on his face.

"Atem, what are you doing with my pendant?" Yami asked innocently, sitting up slightly. A looked of panic spread across Atem's face as he looked up at Yami.

"I-I was just examining it", Atem spoke a little too quickly, though Yami seemed to accept the answer.

"Oh", the human sighed softly, taking the pendant and slipping it back around his neck. "It's beautiful, isn't it? My Grandpa told me that he found it out here, half buried in the earth", Yami smiled fondly at the memories of his grandfather.

"Yeah", Atem murmured distractedly. The alien was too busy cussing himself in his head about losing his chance to make a getaway.

Yami stretched his arms up as he sat up beside Atem and subconsciously laid his head on the alien's shoulder. Atem blinked and nervously looked down at the human; he wanted to tell Yami to move away but when he saw the peaceful look on the pale man's face, he knew he couldn't. He just had to put up with it for the time being.

"Are you hungry?" Yami asked out of the blue as he reached over to his small backpack and pulled out two juicy red apples.

Now that Atem thought about it, he was starving; he hadn't had anything to eat since he'd been on his ship. "Yes", Atem answered truthfully.

"Well, it's a good thing I collected these!" Yami giggled enthusiastically as he handed Atem one of the apples before biting into his own. He chewed, hummed appreciatively at the taste before swallowing it and turning to the alien. "Where would you be without me?" he asked jokingly.

_Maybe in a place where I didn't have to make such a tough decision... _Atem thought to himself, frowning slightly before shrugging off his thoughts and biting into the tasty treat.

For a long time, there was only silence... and the soft sound of crunching as the apples were devoured by the two. Yami finished off the apple and dropped the core down beside him; Atem did the same and the two sat silently for a moment more.

"So...", the pale man began, "how old are you exactly?"

Atem looked up and raised an eyebrow as he thought for the right words to answer the human's question. "Well, our time periods are different to yours", Atem spoke.

"Okay... in what way?" Yami asked, also raising an eyebrow interestedly.

"I think, for every two years that pass here; we interpret as one Nip'itarian year for us", Atem explained.

"Do you know when you were born, then?" Yami asked.

"I was not born", Atem answered. Yami blinked, confusion filling his eyes.

"You... you weren't born? I don't understand", Yami frowned slightly. Atem watched Yami's expression change from confusion, to slight sadness, to a touch of fear.

"I was created", Atem explained, "it is how our race is made."

Yami frowned again, this time Atem couldn't really interpret what Yami was feeling. It almost looked like a piteous expression.

"But, if that's so, how was the first being of your race made? Cause there wouldn't have been anyone else to create him... or her", Yami asked, his curiosity building.

Atem gave an amused smile; this human really did ask the strangest questions.

"How was the first being of _your _race made?" Atem retorted with a smirk. Yami blinked and looked down slightly.

"Well... God created the first humans-", Yami began but was quickly interrupted by Atem.

"There you go; you've answered your own question. Our deity made the first of our kind." Atem explained as if it was obvious.

Yami was silent then, before realising something, "Hey, you still haven't answered my first question! How old are you?"

Atem smiled before chuckling slightly, "Well... going by your years... I'd be about twenty years old", the alien spoke.

"Oh, I see", Yami spoke.

Atem smiled softly and nodded before looking toward the cave entrance. "We should start heading off", the alien spoke. "I want to make an early start."

"Oh, okay then!" Yami smiled brightly and quickly grabbed his bag, standing up with Atem.

The two men were once again, on their way. Atem had checked his locator co-ordinates and made sure he was headed in the right direction before they set off.

"So, where _exactly _are we going?" Yami asked. Atem frowned. He couldn't tell the human yet.

"I thought you said you weren't going to ask questions if I let you come with me", Atem muttered, his eyes straight ahead.

Yami frowned, "Gee, sorry. I just wanted to know, is all", he murmured, a touch of sadness in his voice. Atem sighed.

"You wouldn't understand", he said. Yami glared at the back of the alien's head at that comment. The human was fed up of this man treating him as a child; though he was afraid he'd be left behind if he made the alien angry; and besides, he didn't know his way home from where they were and it seemed Atem had a good sense of direction, so for now, he'd stick with the alien.

It was almost an hour before either of them spoke again; Yami was getting quite unnerved by the silence and he just needed a little reassurance. "Do you know if we're close?" Yami asked.

"I don't", Atem answered, and said nothing else.

Yami sighed softly and continued following the alien. It felt like they had been walking in circles! All Yami had seen for the past hour was the green of the trees, and quite frankly, he was getting sick of it.

Almost as if reading his mind, the tree's decided to part as they walking out into a clearing and froze.

"That looks dangerous", Yami commented as he set his sight on what was before him. Atem hummed softly in thought as his eyes scanned over the rickety bridge in front of them. It was across a ravine, and the sound of running water echoed up through the narrow gorge. If anyone fell from that height, they would surely drown.

Atem glanced up from the water, back to the bridge. It was made out of wood and rope; not the strongest of materials, but there looked to be no other way of getting across and this was the way he had to go. Atem stepped forward onto the first wooden plank of the bridge; it wobbled under his weight, but held him, nonetheless.

Yami gulped, "Are... are you sure about this?"

Atem nodded, "I have to go this way", the alien confirmed and began carefully walking across the bridge. The alien was almost halfway across the bridge before he noticed that the human had ceased to follow; he looked over his shoulder with a frown. "What are you waiting for?"

Yami, who was stood on the solid ground, didn't move. "I... I'm not so good with heights", the human admitted slowly.

Atem rolled his eyes slightly, "If I can get across this thing, so can you, just don't look down", the alien told him.

Yami gulped once before nodding slightly, "O-okay", he said; he trusted Atem; he knew the alien wouldn't purposely lead him into any danger.

Yami slowly, but surely began making his way across the bridge. Atem was quicker than Yami and made it to the other end in no time. Altogether, there was about fifty plank steps across, Yami was on the tenth.

Yami sighed, letting his breath out slowly; he was gripping the rope sides so hard that his knuckles had gone white. He took another step. So far so good.

"You're doing great, Yami! One step at a time!" Atem reassured him from across the bridge.

Yami kept his eyes on the alien as he took another step. The human bit his lip at the noise of the rapidly running water below.

Yami took another stride; a sickening crack resounded and Yami fell through the broken plank, a cry escaping his lips. The thirteenth step.

~End of Chapter 6~


	8. Chapter Seven: Relax And Take It Easy

**Full summary: Atem is a warrior; part of an alien race called the Nip`ita. He is sent to Earth to retrieve two powerful pendants that are needed by his race. What happens when he finds someone he didn't expect... and falls in love? AtemxYami. Yaoi. Rating will eventually be bumped up to M.**

**A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Hope you all enjoy chapter seven. **

**Warning: This fic is going to be MONARCHSHIPPING, YAOI, AtemxYami. Just so ya'll understand that!**

**"**Hello" - human talkie.  
"_Hello" _- Alien language talkie.  
'Hello' - thoughts.

**Important Note: Yeah... sorry I haven't been updating like I said I would... I have too much crap going on. Crap being schoolwork... Anyway, that's all done so here's an update!**

~Chapter Seven~

"ATEM!" the scream echoed out of the ravine as the pale man disappeared from Atem's line of sight. The alien tensed and ran forward impulsively.

"Yami!" Atem called as he dashed across the dangerous, wobbling bridge. The alien saw a pair of hands gripping the wooden plank. A splash below resounded as the broken plank crashed into the rapids.

Atem fell to his knees before the pale man who was gripping on for dear life and grabbed his biceps, pulling him up as hard as he could.

Yami was hyperventilating as he was pulled back onto the bridge that was still swinging hazardously from side to side. The human collapsed onto Atem as the tanned man fell backwards, both panting harshly.

Yami gripped the other, his arms tight around Atem's neck as he lay stiffly on top of him, his head buried in the aliens shoulder.

Atem breathed a sigh of relief that he had saved Yami just in time and tried to move into a sitting position, though their current situation didn't allow him that movement, especially with Yami laying awkwardly on top of him.

"Yami, we need to get up and off this bridge now, or it might give way", Atem warned the panicked human.

Yami looked up and Atem could see the fear in his eyes, but the human nodded and ever so slowly moved off of Atem, though didn't cease his tight hold on him.

Atem sat up slowly since he didn't want to risk the bridge collapsing. Yami gave a whine as he caught sight of the gushing water below; he tightened his grip on Atem.

"It's alright, Yami." Atem reassured the human; "just stand up so we can get to the other side of the bridge..." he tried.

Yami hesitantly stood as he clutched onto Atem; the alien could understand the human's fear, after all, if either one of them were to fall to the rocky, river rapids below, that would be the last of them.

The two stumbled across the bridge, their eyes fixated on the step in front of them and the two managed to travel across the wooden planks without another one giving way.

"That was close", Atem whispered as the two dropped to their knees on the grass across the bridge.

Yami groaned, "On the way back... can we find a different way home..." the human whispered.

Atem blinked once; he hadn't really thought about the journey back yet. Perhaps he hadn't planned this trip accurately. If he didn't find the other pendant today, then he'd probably be demoted back to a soldier for taking longer than he should have. He really didn't want that; and then again, he'd never thought about how he was going to get the golden pendant off the human either... these decisions were getting harder. He was getting used to the human being with him now; he really should have taken the pendant when he had the chance...

"I don't feel so good", Yami murmured, effectively bringing Atem out of his reverie.

"Lay down, Yami", Atem advised as he stood and brushed himself off, "I'll be back in a minute." Atem looked around and walked toward a rocky formation in front of him. It was quite tall and didn't seem to symbolise anything; but it was so peculiar that it looked man-made.

A frown blemished his features and he walked around the corner, disappearing from Yami's sight.

"Wait", Yami called, standing up and following after Atem. The human rounded the corner and bumped into the alien, who turned around quickly.

"What?" Atem snapped.

"Atem?" Yami asked, frowning at the slightly hostile bark. Atem's features softened slightly, "Sorry, you just startled me..."

Yami frowned slightly, "Atem... you never told me what it was you were looking for", the human spoke.

Atem eyed him warily before turning and walking away; Yami frowned and grabbed his arm. "Atem, please! Will you stop walking away every time I ask you that question?"

Atem sighed and shook his head, "It's none of your concern."

"But if you TELL me then I can help you LOOK for it!" Yami whined. Atem growled with frustration.

"I KNEW you shouldn't have come along!" the alien yelled in annoyance. Yami frowned, a look of hurt stirring on his face.

The human lowered his gaze and sighed softly, "Okay... okay... I'm sorry, I won't ask again... I was only trying to help."

Atem sighed, "I apologise... I'm just getting a bit anxious", the alien admitted.

Yami nodded softly, "Can we sit down for a while... please?" he asked. Atem looked at him and nodded in confirmation.

The two sat in the shade that was cast by the rock formation. Atem sat cross-legged, his eyes resting on Yami who laid back, his body stretched out.

The human sighed and closed his eyes, his lips parting slightly as he began to doze. Atem's eyes drifted over the other. Yami's face looked so peaceful when he was resting; like he had noticed the night before as he had watched him sleep for a while. Yami had his arms crossed behind his head and his chest was slowly rising and falling.

Atem's eyes drifted to the human's stomach. Yami's shirt had ridden up slightly on his body, revealing his navel. The shirt that Yami was wearing was quite tight and showed his muscles under the fabric.

Atem watched curiously as the muscles flexed as the other stretched slightly. Yami smiled slightly in his doze.

Atem raised an eyebrow; wondering what Yami was finding so amusing.

"Why are you smiling?" Atem asked.

Yami lazily opened one eye, "I just like it up here... I'd come here every now and then if it weren't for that darn bridge", he replied.

Atem nodded slightly, "Oh." Yami closed his eyes once more and Atem shuffled closer to him; lying down beside him.

Yami glanced over at him and blushed as he realised their faces were inches apart. Atem frowned slightly as Yami's cheeks heated up.

"I really like you, Atem", Yami spoke softly; his blush rising.

"I like you too, Yami", Atem said, rather oblivious.

Yami sighed, "I mean I _really _like you", and the human offered a small smile.

"I really like you too", Atem replied, still unaware. Yami would have face-palmed had it not been for the relaxing moment.

"You don't understand, Atem", Yami murmured lightly, before deciding to show the other what he meant.

Atem blinked as Yami moved closer to him.

Yami's lips parted, a soft, pink tongue darted out and licked them, making them moist before he moved forward to capture Atem's lips...

...Or he would have had it not been for the rude beep that cut through the moment; Atem sat up quickly and Yami almost cussed aloud.

Atem reached into his pocket to look at the radar and his eyes widened.

"What?" Yami asked, catching the look on Atem's face.

"The thing I'm looking for... it's moving", he gasped.

~End of Chapter 7~


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